It sounds like most of the people responding here are PC programmers. The XGS isn't about teaching people to program for the PC, but for game consoles (of which only the XBox and to a less extend Dreamcast are programmed similarly to a PC). Writing games for consoles is a completely different beast than programming for PC - you have a different mindset, far more limitations. And since the system doesn't get more powerful year after year, your coding has to constantly get more powerful, more optimized, pushing the system's limits beyond what it was designed for. Which means making your own non-API functions which access the hardware directly, often using Assembly. Which is something you can't really do on a PC, because each system is completely different, even with different CPU's. You are pretty much stuck using API's for everything, or forcing your users to have a specific piece of hardware.
Now, I program mainly for handheld game systems. And I can tell you, they are *very* similar to the XGameStation. Not as limited, sure, but still plenty of limitations, and a game programmer really needs to learn to program within extreme limitations. Just yesterday I was looking into assembly-coding a function because that function was too slow, and when I traced through it the C compiler was doing a horrid job. I know people in my company who have never programmed in Assembly before, or only very limitedly, and wouldn't even think of that answer. Even in C, if you've only ever programmed for nice hefty PC-like systems before, you know very little about optimizing for space and speed. I can honestly say that I would be a far worse programmer if I hadn't had the experience trying to push the Gameboy Color to its limits (including cramming every little feature we wanted into that small cartridge). And some of the best games come from companies that formed out of demo groups, the kind that show how far they can push a system.
The XGS is also about making your own game system, from the initial design phase all the way to having the motherboards manufactured. According to the site, its e-book goes step by step through the process, and if you ever wonder about any step, you can look at the finished product to see how that step ended up, what it's purpose was. And maybe you could hack the system, change part of it or add something to it - like a hard drive interface. This is something I'm really looking forwards to - I know almost nothing about electronics, and there's always seemingly stupid decisions made about game systems that I'd like to either understand better, or make my own system that has no such problems.
So to me, the XGS sounds like a bargain. If I hacked an XBox or Dreamcast, that could teach me basic console programming, but I wouldn't learn very good optimization techniques. And it definitely wouldn't even start to prepare me for making my own game system.
If you don't want any kiddy-kiddy games, then don't buy them. Gamecube has Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Waverace, Resident Evil (which is exclusive to the Gamecube from now on), Tonky Hawk, Eternal Darkness, Skies of Arcadia, and more, let alone all the sports games.
Um, you are thinking of the original Metal Gear Solid, not MGS2. Only the original made it to PC. A lot of people consider it a great game in the series, and some of us have actually played parts of Metal Gear Solid 2 on PS2 (demos, E3) and realize that the gameplay is just as good, if not better, and the graphics are 10,000 times better. If you don't like that type of game, that's you, but don't say all the hype was created by magazines and websites, it was created by the gamers who love the games too.
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Doom as it was? No - not in 4K. But there is a ray-caster for it already, which is what Doom used for its 3D engine. Check out the video here: http://www.xgamestation.com/view_media.php?path=pr oducts/xgs_me/xgs_me_demo_raycaster.wmv&title=XGam eStation%20Micro%20Edition×tamp=&caption=Rayc aster+demo+by+Kieren+Johnstone.%0D
It sounds like most of the people responding here are PC programmers. The XGS isn't about teaching people to program for the PC, but for game consoles (of which only the XBox and to a less extend Dreamcast are programmed similarly to a PC). Writing games for consoles is a completely different beast than programming for PC - you have a different mindset, far more limitations. And since the system doesn't get more powerful year after year, your coding has to constantly get more powerful, more optimized, pushing the system's limits beyond what it was designed for. Which means making your own non-API functions which access the hardware directly, often using Assembly. Which is something you can't really do on a PC, because each system is completely different, even with different CPU's. You are pretty much stuck using API's for everything, or forcing your users to have a specific piece of hardware. Now, I program mainly for handheld game systems. And I can tell you, they are *very* similar to the XGameStation. Not as limited, sure, but still plenty of limitations, and a game programmer really needs to learn to program within extreme limitations. Just yesterday I was looking into assembly-coding a function because that function was too slow, and when I traced through it the C compiler was doing a horrid job. I know people in my company who have never programmed in Assembly before, or only very limitedly, and wouldn't even think of that answer. Even in C, if you've only ever programmed for nice hefty PC-like systems before, you know very little about optimizing for space and speed. I can honestly say that I would be a far worse programmer if I hadn't had the experience trying to push the Gameboy Color to its limits (including cramming every little feature we wanted into that small cartridge). And some of the best games come from companies that formed out of demo groups, the kind that show how far they can push a system. The XGS is also about making your own game system, from the initial design phase all the way to having the motherboards manufactured. According to the site, its e-book goes step by step through the process, and if you ever wonder about any step, you can look at the finished product to see how that step ended up, what it's purpose was. And maybe you could hack the system, change part of it or add something to it - like a hard drive interface. This is something I'm really looking forwards to - I know almost nothing about electronics, and there's always seemingly stupid decisions made about game systems that I'd like to either understand better, or make my own system that has no such problems. So to me, the XGS sounds like a bargain. If I hacked an XBox or Dreamcast, that could teach me basic console programming, but I wouldn't learn very good optimization techniques. And it definitely wouldn't even start to prepare me for making my own game system.
If you don't want any kiddy-kiddy games, then don't buy them. Gamecube has Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Waverace, Resident Evil (which is exclusive to the Gamecube from now on), Tonky Hawk, Eternal Darkness, Skies of Arcadia, and more, let alone all the sports games.
Um, you are thinking of the original Metal Gear Solid, not MGS2. Only the original made it to PC. A lot of people consider it a great game in the series, and some of us have actually played parts of Metal Gear Solid 2 on PS2 (demos, E3) and realize that the gameplay is just as good, if not better, and the graphics are 10,000 times better. If you don't like that type of game, that's you, but don't say all the hype was created by magazines and websites, it was created by the gamers who love the games too.